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Pittsfield Officals Solicit Input on Skate and Bike Plaza

By Patrick Donges

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-970876.mp3

Pittsfield, MA – About 15 local athletes, mostly skateboarders, attended the meeting at the Pittsfield High School library to give their opinions and reviews of two concepts presented by designers from Who Skates of Kennebunkport, Maine and California-based ACTION Sport Development.

The plaza will be built over the school's former tennis courts at the corner of East Street and Appleton Avenue, which have already been transformed into a makeshift skate park.

Jim McGrath is Pittsfield's program manager for parks, open space and natural resources at the city's community development office.

"We're on a pretty quick schedule here. By the end of June we're required to have a full set of construction drawings and documents for this project, and it's the city's hope that in July we put this project out to bid."

"If you've ever come to a public meeting like this and you've just sat on your hands and watched, this is not that kind of meeting. We need to hear from you because tonight is the night where we make some critical design decisions."

The city has budgeted about $180,000 for the project, a combination of city capital funds and funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Last summer the state granted the city over $800,000 for a project that included razing the skate park at the First Street Common as part of a rehabilitation project. Athletes and officials have said that park had become a problem area known for crime and street gang activity.

Thursday's meeting was the public's first look at exactly what type of features can be bought for the park's budget. Kanten Russell skated professionally full-time for over a decade before becoming a principal designer at ACTION Sport Development.

"As you guys can tell, we have a lot of space here. This whole top area here, just so you know kind of an idea of space here, is about 7,500 square-feet. With the budget we have with this project that's pretty much what we're looking at."

"This is actually pretty generous with the square footage. But again, we're trying to look at the elements, the flow of things. Are we cool with having some of these plaza elements in here; hips, banks, rails, bowl kind of features?"

Of the two designs; one featured more angled elements and the second contained a half-pipe section. Preference swayed towards option two, with those in attendance requesting more flowing, round ramp sections.

Bill Whittaker, co-owner of the Garden skate and BMX shop in Pittsfield and an organizer of the skate park steering committee, said an enclosed bowl design would work better to accommodate skaters and bikers, the latter of which he said make up a large portion of the city's action sports community.

"Those guys are flying all over the place. Even with skateboarders I think it's a little but better to have a bowl that's a little bit closed off with maybe the ability to air out."

That and other similar remarks raised concerns from the city about visibility into the park, here's Jim McGrath.

"We want to make certain that this is a safe park. There's just a general concern I think from the office of community development and from City Hall that there not be the ability for someone to hide behind there and be completely out of view. That's where the misguided activity that we don't want to have happen at this park could occur."

Russell assured that virtual cross-section views would be generated as part of the construction documentation.

Michael Christenson, also known as "Frank," a Pittsfield High School sophomore and the only BMX biker at the meeting, said he appreciated the visibility concerns.

"You're going in there to ride your bike, your skateboard, you're trying to shred. But, there are other people, the rowdy people, they want to come in there and just do what they shouldn't be doing. It's all about chillin', just riding your bike."

David Eddy of West Stockbridge grew up skateboarding in New Jersey and has a 14-old-son who skates.

Eddy warned against foregoing ramps for the installation of new seating and shaded areas, saying they tend to attract those elements the city is hoping to avoid. He said the stereotype of skateboarders and bikers as "hoodlums" is due in part to the promotion of those images by the action sports industry.

"The reality is that the kids that are active participants are athletes not unlike baseball players or basketball players."

"The more you have there to challenge the athletes, the more athletes you have, and there's just no room for any fringe element really. There's just too much going on. It would be like trying to walk in the middle of a basketball game."

Russell said the designs will be made available for further review and comments on the company's website and posted to the "Friends of the Pittsfield Skate Plaza" Facebook page in the coming weeks.